MEDDO

I don't have the time to do the wipe-on poly today so I went for the building board. It seems this would be pretty easy but it was more difficult than it looks. BTW I really don't like this material. It produces a ton of dust/dirt/fibers but it seems strong enough.

Finished the half/cant frames. So now onto cleaning them up. The instructions indicate I should put a few coats of wipe-on poly on each side now. Next up the building board.

I am lucky enough to also have a Fair American on the shelf so I think we will see at least another build log of that one Eventually

So I have been working on the half frames and have run into a bit of a snag. When I did the initial inventory everything was there but I never flipped over the blanks. Here is what I found. So it seems the cnc was not set all the way to the right depth or the wood is a bit too thick. End result is the cuts don't go all the way through. Some places are pretty thin but a few were thicker and were a bit harder to get off the form. I did accidentally break 2 frames in this process but a bit of glue later and you can barely see where they were split. Tonight will be building up the rest of the half frames. Cheers

Half/cant frames coming along. Still leaving them rough for the final sanding. I am being careful as they are on the plans as a single side only, and I have to make sure when building the pairs to make them mirror images and not exact duplicates.

Seeing what is possible is truly inspiring. Beautiful build.

LSS has always been in the practicum business with the "College of Ship Modeling" series. Different options and new content have come and gone over the years but this is the core business. A few years ago he started a side business developing and producing these kits. These were limited runs of very nice kits. Apparently sometime in 2010/2011ish he sold or split off just the kit producing side of the business. The College part stayed intact. The only website that is still around for the kits ishttp://www.royalshipyard.com/Home.aspx I have no idea if they are still in business. The website has some updates in 2011 but none since. These kits are very nice (I also have a Fair American) I don't know if the cost per unit was too high or whatever but I am glad to have a chance to build these 2 wonderful kits.

I took advantage of a sale and this kit just arrived in the mail. Look forward to building it. Your build is very inspiring.

Looks great! That is such a massive upgrade over the supplied boat its amazing.

I have had a few Dremel rotary tools in the past and the thing that was the most helpful is the flexible extension with a place to hang it near the workspace. This flex ext was much more important than the individual model.

I have made the keel which is pictured below. It is made by layering up a few pieces which did fit together really well. Because the kit is CNC cut the wood billets need to be shaped quite a bit to get rid of the mill marks but the end result is pretty accurate. starting the frames with an example of the pieces. Completed all the full frames. I did leave these fairly rough as I expect to be able to fair the frames down in a later step. Next step is the half frames!

I am finally back home where I can start up this build log. So lets give this thing a whirl! I am definitely still a beginner although I have built a few models in the past. These include the Swift (Artesania Latina), Indian girl canoe (Midwest), and various other small boats. This will be my first plank on frame attempt. Can’t wait! This is a now discontinued kit from Lauck Street Shipyard and Mr. Bob Hunt. Mr. Hunt is better known for his “College of Model Ship Building” which is a collection of progressive practicums that start with beginner kits and progress all the way to scratch building. At one time a few years ago he developed a series of kits which included this Halifax, The Fair American, Kingfisher and Fubbs (I think). The Halifax sloop of war in 1/4 scale plank on frame kit based on plans by Harold Hahn. The parts are CNC milled and not laser cut which is nice and the wood quality seems a step above. I guess we always start with a close up picture of the Box: The contents are very neatly packaged and all present: The instruction in full color: I am not too familiar with the site yet and If anyone has any tips just let me know.